SketchUp For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 6

Going beyond Buildings

IN THIS CHAPTER

Extruding around circles and along paths with Follow Me

Mastering the Scale tool

Creating 3D terrain with the Sandbox tools

Using the Solid Tools for additive and subtractive modeling

Here’s something you already know: There’s more to life than modeling buildings. Even though SketchUp is really good at letting you make models of built structures, you can use SketchUp to build just about anything you can imagine. All you need are time, ingenuity, and the ability to step back and break down things into their basic parts. SketchUp provides fantastic tools for creating forms that aren’t the least bit boxy, but those tools aren’t as obvious as Push/Pull and Rectangle, so most people never find them. This chapter is devoted to helping you discover SketchUp’s “rounder” side.

Another reason for pushing past basic boxes? Many people see 3D printing (sound of futuristic music and warp drives engaging) as the next vanguard of human innovation, and 3D modeling — like the kind you do with SketchUp — is half of that equation. If you’re going to ...